Strong Enough
by RadiantBeam
Summary: [Originally titled Fighting Back] Sequel to Obsession. Cree survived her attempted suicide, but everything is far from all right. To make things right again, Cree must put her personal demons to rest once and for all...
1. Chapter 1

**Strong Enough**

_Chapter 1_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_To know the darkness is to love the light,_

_To welcome dawn and fear the coming night_

-The Book of Counted Sorrows

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hoagie Gilligan rocketed down the stairs, trying to ram his books into his backpack while at the same time trying to keep some distance between him and Tommy, who had been stuck to him like glue since last night (why was anyone's guess). He finally succeeded in shoving his oversized history textbook into his backpack, pausing to quickly eat breakfast, only half listening to the news his mother was watching, already thinking ahead to the long, boring day at school, shuddering. However, he perked up slightly at the word "teenager", and turned his eyes to the television screen.

"… Attempted suicide last night. Paramedics arrived at the scene and were able to resuscitate the girl, whose heart had stopped only a few minutes before. At this moment, the girl's name has not been released. However, she is reported still unconscious but in stable condition. Now, on to the weather!"

_Attempted suicide, eh? _Hoagie chewed a corner of his toast. That was definitely new. As far as he knew, no one had ever attempted suicide before, much less a teenager. Uneasiness welled in his belly, but he quickly squashed it. He didn't know anybody who would do that.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

"Abby! Abby! _Abbbbyyyyy_…"

As soon as he reached school, Hoagie had spotted his friend and had called to her, but so far she seemed not to have noticed him, or even _heard _him. She was walking silently across the school yard to the doors, head bowed, hat pulled over her eyes, her arms wrapped around her belly as though someone had sucker punched her. Hoagie opened his mouth to call her again, hesitated, then shrugged as Wally walked over, jerking a thumb at Abby.

"What's 'er problem?"

"I dunno… whatever it is, she seems pretty upset…"

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning Mr. Hart."

The teacher quickly took attendance; Hoagie took that time to glance over once again at Abby. She was sitting across from him, her face buried in her arms on the desk. He elbowed her gently. "Hey, Abby," he called softly. "Abby, are you okay?"

She said nothing.

Mr. Hart turned back to the class. He seemed to steel himself, taking a deep breath. Finally, he said, "Class, did any of you watch the news this morning? At all?" Hoagie raised his hand. "Yes, Hoagie?"

"I heard a little bit. Something about a teenager trying to commit suicide last night, I think."

Abby stiffened slightly.

Mr. Hart nodded. "Hoagie, what did you think of that?"

Hoagie shrugged. "It freaked me out a little, but I wasn't too worried. I mean, no one I know would even _dream _of doing that." He paused uneasily, looking around the classroom. "Right?" The other kids nodded. Hoagie glanced back at Mr. Hart. "Why, Mr. Hart? Was the teenager someone we knew?"

Mr. Hart hesitated, taking another deep breath. "Many of you probably know her."

"Who, Mr. Hart? Who was she?"

Another deep breath. "Her name is Cree Lincoln."

Dead silence reigned throughout the room; Cree might have been a teenager, but she was well-known by the kids in the town, mostly because of her key role in the adult/kid war, and the fact that she had at one time been Numbuh 11. All eyes turned to Abby, who still hadn't lifted her head from her arms, though now she was shaking. Finally, after a silence that seemed to last an eternity, Hoagie spoke, his voice shaking.

"C-Cree? _Cree_? No… that's impossible. She'd never do something like that! If she died, she'd go down fighting! She wouldn't just give up like that!"

"Hoagie…"

"She did." The voice was soft, barely audible, and it took the class a few minutes to realize that Abby had lifted her face, speaking out. Her face, they could now see, was faintly stained with dried tears. Abby took a deep breath.

"She slit her wrists. Both of 'em." She swallowed. "I came in not to long after… she was just lying there, bleeding… I called for Mom and Dad, and Dad called the paramedics… Dad said that was the only thing that saved 'er in the end, that I came in as soon as I did…"

Abby was trembling now, and without thinking Hoagie rose, gently touching her shoulder, letting her slump against him, as though recounting what had happened had drained her of all her strength. After a moment, a kid in the back raised his hand.

"Yes, Timmy?"

"Doesn't depression usually just happen to adults?"

"Well… yes. But recent studies have shown that depression is rising among children and teenagers."

An uneasy murmuring rippled through the classroom at this. Wally raised his hand. "But Mr. Hart, why did Cree cut 'er wrists? If she was gonna commit suicide, why do that?"

"Some teenagers have recently taken to cutting themselves when they're depressed. It makes them feel better. As you know, there are many vital veins around the wrists and ankles… by cutting her wrists, Cree was causing some major damage. And she was already cutting herself as it was… slitting her wrists, in her mind, must have just been the next step."

A strangled whimper from Abby; she buried her face in Hoagie's shoulder.

Another hand, another question. "But sir, my mom's depressed to. But she doesn't kill herself."

"There are different kinds of depression. Some can be snapped out of now and then, because they're mild. But some, like Cree's, are too deep, and eventually they just can't take it anymore… Yes, Terry?"

"But how come no one could tell Cree was depressed? If she was cuttin' 'erself, why didn't anyone know?"

"Not all depressed people are the drooling maniacs you see on TV, Terry. A lot are very good at hiding their depression, and hiding what they're doing to themselves. Cree was just one of those people…"

And so that was how the morning progressed, with children asking questions and Mr. Hart trying his best to answer, and when at one point Hoagie guided Abby out of the room, nothing was said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I am aware of some of the plot holes in this chapter, paticularly the teacher's name. I just made it up, honestly.

Thank God for health class. While I was working on this and _Obsession _we were learning about depression and suicide. The little bit about major veins in the wrists and ankles is a fact that i-am-the J.A.M. told me. Thanks for that, by the way.

Hopefully this clears up what Cree did to herself at the end of _Obsession_. If it doesn't... she slit both her wrists, just to be clear.

When I started writing this I originally titled it _Fighting Back, _but when I went and re-read _Obsession_, I realized the main reason Cree attempted suicide because shebelieved she wasn't strong enough to fight back, so I changed the title to _Strong Enough, _which I think fits the story better.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_When the singer's gone, let the song go on_

_It's a fine line between the darkness and the dawn_

_They say in the darkest night, there's a light beyond."_

- Chicken Little

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The first thing Cree became aware of was a steady beeping. It was soft, almost taunting, and she felt a sinking feeling of dread in her belly. She resisted the urge to open her eyes. Was she still alive?

Taking a chance, Cree slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the crisp, white brightness of the hospital room. The steady beeping she'd heard early was a monitor, monitoring her heart beats. The smell of medicine hung strongly in the air, though Cree suspected it wasn't for her, but from other rooms. And besides, hospitals always smelled like medicine. That was what she hated most about hospitals; the smell of medicine.

Pushing the thought away, Cree lifted her head a little, wincing. Her wrists throbbed—from her slashing them, no doubt—and her head ached. Her eyes slide down to where the IV was inserted in her arm. She moved her arm experimentally; the IV moved with it, causing pain.

Yep. She was definitely still alive.

Cree expected to feel disappointed, dismayed, determined to try again; after all, didn't she _want _to die? Instead, relief and guilt surged through her in one great wave. She realized she wanted to live. So she had screwed up… so what? Damn it, she had been given another chance! Wasn't that what mattered in the end?

"Cree?"

Cree looked up, and her heart soared into her throat. Her father was in the hall, peeking into her room. She trembled. "Daddy," she whispered, fighting the urge to cry; she hadn't called him Daddy since she had been five.

"Oh, thank God." Her father moved so he was sitting next to her on the bed; he pulled her roughly into his arms. She buried her face into his chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she choked out, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm so sorry…"

She didn't bother trying to control her tears this time, sobbing freely against her father's chest, releasing tears she had held back for months, and she realized that releasing them was even better then releasing her own blood. Her father gently stroked her hair.

"It's okay, Cree," he whispered, his voice thick. "It's okay. It's gonna be all right now…"

It was a lie. Things wouldn't be "all right" for a long time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(Sniffles) Aw, poor Cree. Why do I insist on torturing her?

... Because I want to, damn it.

Now you're probably wondering when Cree and Abby will see each other. It will be soon, I promise! Just not right now. Cree needs to have a nice little chat with a person who can help her (COUGHNextchapterCOUGH).


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_So go on and scream_

_Scream at me I'm so far away_

_I won't be broken again_

_I've got to breathe_

_I can't keep going under."_

- Evanescence

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cree's muscles trembled, taut in preparation. This was the hardest thing she had ever done in her whole life; even harder then her hardest fights as a teenager and as a Kids Next Door operative. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, and she wasn't even fighting.

Cree was going to see a psychologist.

It was natural procedure, something every suicide survivor had to do, so they wouldn't go back into relapse. Cree didn't want to hurt her family anymore, she wanted to make things right again because she had screwed up big time, but at the same time she wasn't willing to talk about what it was that had made her slash her wrists, had made her cut herself. But she _knew _it was the right thing to do, so taking a deep breath, Cree cautiously gripped the knob and slowly opened the door.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

"Hello?"

Miss White looked up as the teenager peeked nervously into the room. She smiled welcomingly. "Hello," she said. "You must be Cree Lincoln."

"Yeah." The girl made her way from the door to one of the chairs, sitting down. Her whole body trembled with tense energy, and there was a nervous light in her eyes. Miss White smiled.

"It's alright, I don't bite," she assured Cree. The girl blinked, then blushed.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

"You're scared. It's perfectly normal."

Cree relaxed a little at that, looking around the room curiously. Miss White watched her, not saying anything, wanting her to be comfortable before she started a conversation. Finally, after a moment, she said, "Cree, do you know why you're here?"

Cree looked at the ground. "Because I cut myself. And I slit my wrists." She looked up, meeting Miss White's gaze.

Slightly taken aback by the girl's boldness, Miss White studied her. At the insistence of a nurse, Cree had worn jean shorts, which gave the older woman a glimpse of her scars. Her wrists were beginning to heal, and they would scar, to, silent memoirs to what she had done to herself, what she had attempted to do.

"Do you know why you did it?"

"Yes…" Cree swallowed hard. "I was tired of fighting. I didn't think I was strong enough to stop. I was tired. I wanted…" she paused, taking a deep breath. "I wanted to rest."

"What were you fighting, Cree?"

Cree shrugged helplessly. "Just… just life, I guess. My little sis and I, we were real close until three years ago, and now I don't know if she hates me for what I tried to do. I'm in a war that I can't seem to get out of, that I _want _to get out of, but… I don't feel like I can. I feel weak."

Miss White leaned forward. "Cree, you aren't weak. Yes, you tried to kill yourself. But you survived, and now you're trying to live again. You're one of the strongest people I've seen. I've seen people like you, ready to give up, _wanting _to give up, but they don't. They try to make things better."

"But… but I slit my wrists. That didn't make things better."

"But you're trying to fix it. Don't you see? You aren't weak, Cree. If you were weak, you'd try again."

Cree looked at her hands, at the newly formed scars on her wrists. "What makes you think I won't try again?"

"Because I can see it in you. Cree, you _want to live_. You _know _you do. And you've been given a second chance." Miss White took a deep breath.

"You aren't weak. You messed up, yes, but you aren't weak. And you _can _live again. But you have to choose if you want to change."

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

... Nothing much to say about this chapter, really...


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_We will be together_

_Leaving our cares behind forever_

_At the first sign of spring_

_The heat of the sun will shine right through_

_Never a moment comes too soon_

_As the first sign of spring."_

Bambi II

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Time: 1:00 PM

Mood: Not in a cutting mood, but not exactly to happy, either.

Location: My hospital room. Which I've been in for the past couple weeks. Damn it.

Location preferred: Home. (But nooo, the doctors said I need to hang around for a little more treatment…)

Dear Diary,

I'm. So. Ruddy. BORED. Seriously, nothing's going on right now. Okay, yes, I know it's a stupid hospital, nothing's _supposed _to happen, but _come on_! If I'm going to be cooped up in here for weeks on end, at least let me wander around! I'm driving myself crazy here!

I've been visiting Miss White every day. It was actually her idea that I should keep you. You know, writing down my thoughts makes me feel better and all that lovely crap.

…Actually, this is kind of nice. I can write down what I'm thinking, and I don't have to tell anyone about it. Miss White even wrote "Cree's Diary: Keep Out" on you when she gave you to me. She lets me read what I want to her, and never asks for more. Although now I'm ticked because there's a nurse in my room (who's _nosy as hell_) and she's trying to read what I'm writing. Let's see if she can read this…

BUG OFF.

Heh. That got her outta here. But now I feel guilty… damn it.

It's really not so bad here. Dad pops in every day, y'know, just to check on me. Mom and Maurice have visited a couple times… even Chad came, but that was only once. The last time Maurice came, we just sat and talked about stuff. He's kept an eye on Abby for me, so he lets me know how she's doing.

Speaking of Abby, Maurice says my little sis got into a fight the other day. Apparently some kid badmouthed me, and she jumped him. Maurice says it doesn't take much to set her off lately. The good news, at least, is that Hoagie Gilligan has been her constant companion since I was sent here. I guess he's afraid to leave her by herself.

I'm worried about Abby. She hasn't come to visit yet (I think Dad won't let her), and I know she was the first person to find me after I slashed my wrists. Before I lost conscience, I heard her scream my name. Maybe when Dad stops by again I'll ask him if Abby can come by sometime.

I'll write more tomorrow. That stupid nurse is back again.

Cree

A.K.A

The girl who's dying of boredom and worried sick about her little sis.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As you can see, Cree isn't in much of a suicidal mood anymore.

Next chapter: Abby and Cree meet for the first time since Cree slashed her wrists! Dun dun _dunnnnnnnn_...

... Okay, I'll stop now.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_On the way down, I saw you_

_And you saved me from myself_

_And I won't forget the way you love me_

_On the way down I almost fell right through_

_But I held on to you."_

Ryan Cabrera

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Dad, come on!"

Abby trotted beside her father, matching his crisp pace as he walked down the hall to the door. The day was a Friday, around six AM, much earlier then Abby usually got up, but she had woken up to catch her dad before he went to work.

"Abby, no. It's a Friday. You have school…"

"We never do anything on Fridays anyway! Dad, please! I'm beggin' ya here!"

Her father turned to her. "Abby, you don't understand. Cree… she isn't the way you remember. She…"

"She cut her legs and slit her wrists, and she's been seeing a psychologist," Abby said, reciting what she had read from her sister's hospital files. "Dad, _I know that_. But I wanna see Cree! I wanna know for sure that she's okay! I was the one who found 'er, remember?"

Dr. Lincoln gave his youngest daughter a pained look. He had come in, being the first to hear Abby's screams. It was a sight he would never forget: Cree, lying on her bed, motionless except for the dark pool of blood seeping from her wrists, and Abby, having somehow made her legs run to the bed, crouched over her sister, sobbing, shaking her shoulder, _begging _her to wake up, although she was smart enough to know that Cree wouldn't rise that night. He sighed.

"Dad," Abby whispered pleadingly.

He shook his head wearily, then turned to his wife. "Can you call Abby's school and let them know she won't be coming in today?"

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Cree paused for a moment, chewing at the end of her pen, studying the open diary in her lap. She had woken up some time around four or five, and had been up for the past few hours, unable to go back to sleep. She glanced up at the clock; it read about ten, she mused. She glanced back down at the diary.

She had been busily writing for the past few hours, not entries exactly, but just poems and short stories. It had been something she had started recently, a way of fighting off depression whenever it reared its ugly head, and so far it was working rather well. She had written a poem about Maurice, about her father, about Chad, about clouds and flowers, about Father, and currently was trying to puzzle out what to write for Hoagie and Tommy. They had sent a card not to long ago, simply reading, _Get well soon, we miss you, this new baby-sitter STINKS!_. Hoagie wasn't so hard—whenever she saw him with his goggles, she imagined flying—but Tommy was a different story.

"Cree? You busy, sweetie?"

Cree looked up, smiling a little when she saw her father gazing into the room. She closed her diary, resting it on the desk. "Not really, Dad." She stretched, yawning. "Just couldn't sleep, so I've been writing for a few hours," she admitted.

"I noticed."

Cree stuck her tongue at him.

He cleared his throat. "Well, the truth is, Cree… well… you have a visitor."

Cree raised a brow. It was at least ten in the morning; school, she knew, was in session, even if she was still confined to her hospital room and being home schooled.

Dr. Lincoln noticed her look, and smiled. "I know, I know, you're probably wondering who wants to see you this early. But she was pretty insistent." At that, he stepped back, and Cree could finally see her mystery visitor.

"Hey, sis."

Cree's eyes widened, and her heart flew into her throat at the sight of Abby, her hat pulled back so Cree could clearly see her eyes. Their father had moved farther down the hall, so they could be alone. Cree swallowed hard. "Hey, Abby," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly.

She had been told by her father—had known—that Abby was the first to find her after she had slashed her wrists, and she had worried about her constantly. But now, seeing her, Cree realized she didn't know what to say. How could she explain to Abby what had been whirling through her mind that night? How could she explain that at that time she had _wanted _to die, even knowing she would hurt her family and leave her little sister behind to recover?

Cree looked at her hands, laughing nervously, sadly. "I guess I'm not the hero you thought I was, sis." She looked up, meeting Abby's gaze evenly. "I hurt you real bad. I'm sorry. I wish—I _want_—to explain to you why I did it… but I can't." Cree laughed again, fighting the urge to collapse into sobs. "I wish I could, but I can't."

A long silence followed this statement, as Abby seemed to consider this; Cree waited, anxiety gnawing at her belly.

The next instant, with a sob, Abby launched herself into Cree's arms, practically knocking the older girl back, burying her face in Cree's shoulder, sobbing. Cree stiffened in shock, then slowly relaxed, gently rocking her sister.

"I… I thought you were _dead_," Abby whimpered. "I thought you _died._

"I'm here, Abby. I'm alive, see? I'm alive," Cree whispered soothingly. "I'm not going anywhere." She sighed softly.

"I'm not going anywhere for a long time."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Awwwww... sisterly love... (Kicks self for Abby's OOCness)


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves._

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You're gonna come home soon, right?"

"Depends on whether or not they think I'm ready, Abby."

"That seems stupid."

"They just want to make sure I don't do it again, sis."

Abby said nothing as Cree gently brushed her hair. She had let Cree undo her braid, and her hair fell gently along her shoulders as her older sister gently brushed it back. She could almost believe that Cree had never attempted suicide, and they were home in her room, not in the hospital, and it was just a normal day, one where they got along. And yet she could not be fooled; once again, at the insistence of a nurse, Cree was wearing shorts, giving Abby her first real look at her sister's scars. And, out of the corner of her eye, she could see the newly formed scars on Cree's wrists. She shivered.

"You okay?" Cree asked.

"Yeah."

Abby leaned back against Cree, comforted by the firm feeling of her sister's gentle strokes. "Y'know, I always thought you were invincible," she murmured after a moment.

Cree faltered, her brush strokes slowing, but she kept it up. "Oh?" she asked.

"Yeah. I just… you always seemed untouchable, invincible." Abby glanced up at her sister. "You were faking, weren't you? That was your way of dealing with your depression, before you started cuttin' yourself."

"Yeah." Cree sighed.

"Why? Why didn't you just talk about it?"

Cree bit her lip, thinking. After a moment, softly, she said, "Because if I did, then I was letting up the act. If I went to someone, I was admitting that I had a problem. Oh, I _knew _I had a problem… I wasn't dumb. But everyone knew me as the calm, cool one, "oh look, she always knows what she's doing". And you looked up to me for it." She laughed. "I was so scared I'd let you down."

"So… you kept quiet for me?"

"Yes. But Abby, don't think for a minute that what happened is your fault, because if you do, truthfully, I'll beat the crud outta ya."

Abby looked at her hands as Cree's strokes once again regained their quick rhythm, gently brushing the dark locks of hair out of her eyes. After a moment, she said, "Cree, ya know what scared me the most that night? When I came in, and saw ya just lyin' there?"

"Do I _want _to know?"

"I'm still gonna tell ya, either way."

Cree sighed, and on a gust of air, said, "Shoot."

"I'm not tryin' to put ya on the spot."

"I know you aren't, sis."

Abby hesitated, twirling a loose strand of dark hair around her finger. She didn't know exactly how to word what she wanted to say.

_Here goes nothing._

"I know… I know that I'm not big on the whole… family love thing. And I know I don't say nearly enough of the things I should to you. You're my sister, and you've always been there for me no matter what." Abby felt tears threatening to fall but she fought them back. "And when I saw you there, just… bleeding and not moving, it made me realize that." She swallowed. "And I was so scared. Because if you died, I wouldn't be able to tell you…"

"Tell me what?"

Abby bit her lip. "That I love you."

A stunned moment of silence as Cree processed these words, words she hadn't heard from her sister's mouth in well over three years, words she had secretly yearned for but never asked for…

"I love you to, Abby."

Abby turned, hugging her sister tightly, and she felt Cree hug her back. And even if it had taken something as drastic as attempted suicide for her to realize what she should have said before, it didn't matter.

Abby didn't fight the tears anymore.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Melts)

God, I love this chapter so much... maybe because I wish something like this would happen on the show...


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Hope is the destination that we seek._

_Love is the road that leads us to hope._

_Courage is the motor that drives us._

_We travel out of darkness into faith._

The Book of Counted Sorrows

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cree had been steadily recovering since that fatal night so long ago. Miss White helped show her how to deal with the problems she had shoved aside in the past. She was still somewhat wary of others, but slowly was learning to trust again. But most importantly, Cree was learning to _live _again. Things she had enjoyed before made her smile again, and slowly but surely the spark that had dimmed during the months of depression lightened her eyes once more. Then Miss White decided it was time to re-introduce her into the classroom.

Cree nearly slipped back into her old habits when she learned she would be returning to her old class.

Two months before the end of the year, Cree walked down the hall, trembling badly. She had made a leap of faith, wearing a pair of jean shorts that clearly showed her scars, but she knew she could never hide them forever. She stood outside the door, a thousand "what ifs" racing through her mind. What would she say to her classmates? What would they say to _her_?

Her teacher, Ms. Zeno, chose that moment to step outside, smiling. "Hello, Cree. It's good to see you again!"

"Hi, Ms. Zeno," Cree murmured, self-consciously massaging her wrists. The slashes she had made that night had scarred over. The scars of depression would never leave her. As long as she lived, her scars would give a silent testimony to what had been the hardest battle of her life.

"Everyone's waiting for you," Ms. Zeno said, stepping aside.

Cree stared at the door knob, as though it had grown teeth and threatened to bite her; finally, biting her lip, she slowly turned the knob and opened the door. She froze, gasping.

Ms. Zeno hadn't been kidding when she said _everyone _was waiting. Cree's class stood there, as well as teenager she recognized from the ninjas, Maurice, Chad, Abby, Hoagie, Nigel, Fanny, Wally, Kuki, Tommy and Mushi, all the kids in their classes standing there. A large white banner painted in green and blue glitter had been strung above the windows. In light blue glitter the words, "Welcome back, Cree!" were written. "Welcome back, Cree!" The whole room chorused, waiting just for that moment when Cree would walk through the door, echoing the words carefully written on the banner.

Cree's eyes widened; she swiped at them, realizing she was crying, and not feeling at all ashamed. "You guys," she choked out.

Abby took that as a signal to run from the crowd and hug her sister as tightly as possible; when she pulled away, she took Cree's hand, leading her to the crowd. "I know it's kinda crowded," she said, "but everybody wanted to make sure you were okay."

Maurice stepped forward, giving Cree a quick, light kiss, and the kids swept forward, hugging her in one massive group hug. Her lips trembled as she smiled, and a few lone tears coursed her cheeks as she began speaking to Hoagie and Tommy, who didn't hesitate to tell her how much their new baby-sitter sucked, would Cree be coming back soon?

Abby slipped off to the side, smiling slightly. She hastily wiped tears from her eyes as tears streaked Cree's cheeks. It would probably take a year or two more of treatment before things were _completely _back to normal, but it really _was _going to be all right.

**The End**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, that's it. The end of _Strong Enough._ Please review!


End file.
